...and by Dummies, I mean me. I'm a little confused by the insurance aspect of ownership. When I first started thinking about buying a Ferrari, I called a few places, including Hagerty. Now, as I understand it, Hagerty is supposed to be one of the better options for insuring an exotic, right? I also called the company that insures my other vehicles. (A Honda, two Kias, and a Ducati, if anyone is curious.) What I found was this: Hagerty was twice as expensive for the same level of coverage, and only insured the car for the original purchase price. Meaning that if the car escalated in value, I would have to renew my policy (at a new, higher rate) to reflect this change. My current company (who said they would insure my car but still recommended I use Hagerty) will use NADA value in determining a claim. So even if the car doubles in value, I'm still only paying the same rate I am now. I made it a point to clarify this to my agent, and it's exactly as stated. We've been with our current company for over 12 years. Both our houses are insured through them, and we also have life insurance through them. They are courteous, and have always been prompt whenever we have had to file a claim. So my question is...what am I missing, here? What about Hagerty makes it better? I have a very limited understanding of insurance, so if anyone with a better knowledge of the industry could enlighten me, I'd appreciate it. For the record, my car is a 1990 348ts, I am 42, clean driving history, and the only driver on the policy (wife can't drive a stick.) Currently we are using the old company, but I keep wondering if I should switch.
I use jc Taylor I have an 89 348 tb they are cheap and are a great company they have been very good to me I've used them for other cars also but I don't think they do above 1995 I think. But a great company. And it's rare to ever hear that about an insurance Co
I would consider Chubb. I use Chubb for multiple properties and cars. They are more expensive than any of the bargain brands. They also offer multiple coverage discounts if you insure your property and automobiles with them. The discounts are decent. They are still more expensive though. So why do I go with them. Because my car is insured at a stated value. In other words, if the car is totaled there is nothing to discuss. They pay the agreed amount. Consider what you are insuring. With inexpensive insurance you will most likely have a problem if you have a large claim. Good luck!
When I bought my car 5 years ago Grundy's quote was about 1/2 that of Hagarty, and substantially less than my "normal" insurance company. Been with them ever since.
I tried Hagerty. They insure my TR8 with an agreed value of $25k. $200 a year with all solid and reasonable coverage and deductibles. Of course i had Hagerty quote my 1998 F1 spider at an agreed value of $70k. They came back 3 times the cost of Erie insurance who also handle my daily drivers. Whatever....Erie it is. Good luck.
Tried Hagerty, unfortunately was a year or two shy of qualifying for coverage. Ended up going with my current provider for our other cars, Progressive, who if my memory serves me correctly had the collector car portion underwritten by... Hagerty, lol.
Grundy and Chubb are both part of the same parent company. I had my muscle cars with Hagerty, but when I bought the F355, Hagerty wanted a fortune for coverage. Grundy was half the price that Hagerty was for the same agreed value, so I went with Grundy based on a recommendation by the previous owner who had experienced good service with them. I moved my other collector vehicles to Grundy after my Hagerty policy expired, which was also cheaper than Hagerty by a few hundred per year.
I had the exact same experience as the OP. All of the specialists like Hagerty were significantly more expensive than my broadline insurer that I have used for over 15 years. In fact, my total cost of insurance went down when I added my Ferrari due to reviewing the auto policies and recompeting them!
Haggerty refused me coverage because my daily driver was too old. Went with my mass carrier, Liberty Mutual and all is good.
I don't mind paying more for a better product. I'm just wondering if Hagerty (or Chubb, Grundy, et al) actually IS better in some way I don't understand. Am I missing something?
I don't mind paying more for a better product. I'm just wondering if Hagerty (or Chubb, Grundy, et al) actually IS better in some way I don't understand. Am I missing something?
Reasonable question David regarding insurance needs. The best advice anyone can give you is to search for a very good broker (preferably with at least someone on staff that holds the CPCU or CIC designations) to give you proper advice as exactly what you need. This question comes up frequently here and the result is a lot of very improper suggestions like a number of the above. Remember the old saying "you get what you pay for", well it really appears when it comes to insurance. Example would be the already mentioned Chubb Insurance company. In most cases they will be higher but they have a sterling reputation for higher valued items, it's what they do, kind of like comparing a Chevy to a Ferrari, you know which one will cost more and why even though they are both cars. If one source is double another there generally is a reasonable reason. The cheaper policies are always written on an Actual Cash Value (used for all basic auto insurance, ie your daily driver) basis which means any loss is handled starting with a value guide such as NADA and DEPRECIATED from that figure. Some insurers use what is known as Stated Value which just sets a specific value on the policy and then use the ACV method I just mentioned to adjust the loss. Then there is the Agreed Value approach which states that at time of a total loss you get the value you and the carrier AGREED to when you set the policy up. As you can see there is a big difference in these approaches and there is nothing wrong with any of them, it just comes down to what you want at time of loss. Trust me this is just a simple primer on the subject and why I urge you to consult with a good broker. One final thing, Hagerty/Grundy/JC Taylor/American Collectors etc are not the insurance companies, they are wholesale/ retail brokers which means they can write you direct or will deal with the Broker of your choice. Insurance companies are like Chubb, State Farm, Allstate, etc. and are the actual people that will adjust the claim should you have one. You are off to good start by recognizing your limited knowledge on a complicated subject and unfortunately as good as this forum is in sorting out the mechanical issues we have, it is not the best source for insurance knowledge. I say this with all due respect to those trying to help and share their experiences above as fellow motor heads but I am sharing what I lived for my entire adult career. Best of luck in getting this set up.
Also try Leyland West- great cust service, great coverage, agreed value (no need to worry about NADA, questionable Hagerty "trend charts", etc- agree on valuation and you get a quote based on that) Years ago unfortunately I hit a deer with my 911- Leyland West (I believe American Home is the underlying insurance company) didn't hesitate to quickly approve/cut a check for full repairs, by the Porsche Dealership auto body shop, using only OEM parts. I've heard hitting a deer shouldn't affect your rates...my rates actually went down the following year!
Grundy was a little less expensive than American Family and i now ave a $10,000 higher AGREED value than my previous STATED value. I'm in the process of transferring a few of my other cars over to Grundy after getting some quotes.
I have ZERO loyalty to insurance companies. Go with the company thats give you the best coverage at the best rate. Right now I'm use Geico, but ONLY for my cars, they sub out their home insurance and the company they used is a ripoff in my opinion. I had the home policy for a "discount" on the auto. But my home policy got raised twice, the third time they tried to raise it would have meant a 25%ish total increase in my home policy in just over 2 years. I canceled the home policy and went with a different insurance company. So far Geico has been pretty reasonable with the auto policy, so I'm staying. But the instant they get stupid with auto rates it's off to the next insurance company. Shop around, and do not be afraid to leave one insurance company for another.
It's not just the rates- I've heard from a friend in the auto body business that geico wants to put non-oem or used parts on all the time- this may be for daily drivers vs. collector cars though? Nothing against Geico- I have some berkshire b shares so I guess technically I'm an owner I only know from a one time experience w/leyland- there was zero pressure to use anything but a top notch body shop and all OEM parts...no haggling/sending out estimates from multiple auto body shops, etc. and the payment came very very quickly. Of course the operations of individual insurance companies (even adjusters) change from year to year, but just make sure any has a good reputation from those that may have unfortunately had to file a claim.
